 | |
| Total population | |
| 200,000 [1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Islamabad, Karachi, Gilgit-Baltistan, Rawalpindi | |
| Languages | |
| Uyghur · Urdu · Mandarin · Punjabi · Kashmiri | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Sunni Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Uzbeks, Kazakhs and Kyrgyz |
| Part of a series on |
| Uyghurs |
|---|
Uyghurs outside of Xinjiang |
Uyghurs in Pakistan are a small community of ethnic Uyghurs who live in Pakistan that originate from Xinjiang, China.
Some members of ethnic minorities of China, primarily Muslim Uyghurs from Xinjiang, have historically migrated to and settled in the northern parts of Pakistan. [2] The earliest migrants, numbering in the thousands, came in as traders during the late 19th and early 20th centuries when the area that is Pakistan was still under British rule. Most of these Uyghurs used to have warehouses and residences in towns in the North and in parts of upper Punjab and used to travel between Kashgar and Yarkand and these places, regularly.[ citation needed ] Others came in the 1940s in fear of communist persecution. [3] A few hundred more fled to Pakistan in the aftermath of a failed uprising in Khotan in 1954. [4] Later waves of migration came in 1963 and again in 1974. [5] Some Pakistani descendants who previously lived in Xinjiang, especially at Kashgar, have also moved back to Pakistan with their Uyghur spouses. [6] [7] [8]
Beginning in the 1980s, Pakistan began to become a major transit point for Uyghurs going on the hajj ; the temporary Uyghur settlements that formed there became the focal points of later, more permanent communities, as Uyghurs returning from their pilgrimage or from further studies at schools in Egypt and Saudi Arabia decided to settle down in Pakistan rather than return to China. [9] As of 2020 [update] , community leaders estimated their total numbers at 2,000 [10] to 3,000 people, with 800 at Gilgit, another 2,000 at Rawalpindi, 100 at the border town of Sust on the Karakoram Highway and the remainder scattered throughout the rest of the country. [2]
China has been suspicious of some members of the Uyghur community in Pakistan, viewing them as supporters of the East Turkestan independence movement. Pakistan has given them a friendly reception, but rejects any promotion of separatism or anything that challenges another country's sovereign integrity. [11] Many Uyghurs in Pakistan run small businesses. [3] In recent years, they have moved into the import-export field, buying Chinese ceramics, textiles, and other products from Xinjiang for resale in Pakistan. [12] The Uyghur community are usually well-integrated into Pakistani society. Intermarriage is common now, and most prefer to speak Urdu rather than Uyghur. [3]
A number of Uyghurs residing in Pakistan; especially remote northwestern mountainous tribal areas have been engaged in militancy and carrying out terrorist attacks on local military and civilian targets. [13] China claimed that members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement have taken refuge in Lahore. [5] In 1997, fourteen Uyghur students with Chinese nationality studying in Pakistan were deported back to China after they organised a sympathy protest in support of riots in Ghulja; Amnesty International claims that they were executed. [14] In 2009, another nine Uyghur militants captured in Waziristan were extradited to China. [15]
As of 2015, the Pakistani government asserted that Uyghur militants were no longer present in the tribal areas of northwest Pakistan. [16]
Omar and Akbar Khan, two Uyghur brothers in Pakistan, set up a cultural organisation, the Omar Uyghur Trust, to educate their community's children in the Uyghur language and culture. [17]
Pakistan also used to have a number of Uyghur community reception centres. [18] Kashgarabad, located in Islamabad, was run by wealthy Uyghur traders. Anwar ul-Ulum Abu Hanifa Madrassah was run by a man named Sheikh Serajuddin in Rawalpindi. [19] A third, Hotanabad, was also located near Islamabad. [18] Hotanabad was shut down in December 2000, a situation which the Uyghur American Association also attributes to pressure from China, which expressed concerns about these centers of facilitating recruitment for extremism against Beijing. [14] Kashgarabad and Hotanabad both suffered another shutdown in 2006. [18]
Khunjerab Pass is a mountain pass situated at an elevation of 4,693 meters above sea level. It is located in the Karakoram and holds a significant strategic position on the northern border of Pakistan, specifically in the Gilgit–Baltistan's Hunza and Nagar Districts. Additionally, it is positioned on the southwestern border of China, within the Xinjiang region.
East Turkestan is a loosely defined geographical and historical region in the western provinces of the People's Republic of China, which varies in meaning by context and usage. The term was coined in the 19th century by Russian Turkologists, including Nikita Bichurin, who intended the name to replace the common Western term for the region, Chinese Turkestan, which referred to the Tarim Basin in southern Xinjiang or Xinjiang as a whole during the Qing dynasty. Beginning in the 17th century, Altishahr, which means "Six Cities" in Uyghur, became the Uyghur name for the Tarim Basin. Uyghurs also called the Tarim Basin "Yettishar," which means "Seven Cities," and even "Sekkizshahr", which means "Eight Cities" in Uyghur. Chinese dynasties from the Han dynasty to the Tang dynasty had called an overlapping area the "Western Regions".
The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) is a Uyghur Islamic extremist organization founded in Pakistan by Hasan Mahsum. Its stated goals are to establish an Islamic state in Xinjiang and Central Asia, and eventually a caliphate.
Hotan is a major oasis town in southwestern Xinjiang, an autonomous region in Northwestern China. The city proper of Hotan broke off from the larger Hotan County to become an administrative area in its own right in August 1984. It is the seat of Hotan Prefecture.
Yarkant County, also Shache County, also transliterated from Uyghur as Yakan County, is a county in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, located on the southern rim of the Taklamakan Desert in the Tarim Basin. It is one of 11 counties administered under Kashgar Prefecture. The county, usually referred to as Yarkand in English, was the seat of an ancient Buddhist kingdom on the southern branch of the Silk Road and the Yarkand Khanate. The county sits at an altitude of 1,189 metres (3,901 ft) and as of 2003 had a population of 373,492.
Kashgar Prefecture, also known as Kashi Prefecture, is located in southwestern Xinjiang, China, located in the Tarim Basin region. It has an area of 112,057 km2 (43,265 sq mi) and 4,496,377 inhabitants at the 2020 census with a population density of 35.5 inhabitants/km2. The capital of the prefecture is the city of Kashgar which has a population 506,640.
Maralbexi County, Bachu County, and Chinese: 巴尔楚克县) the former long Chinese name as well, is located in the southwest of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. The county is under the administration of the Kashgar Prefecture. It has an area of 18,491 km2 (7,139 sq mi), and surrounds, but does not administer, the sub-prefecture-level city of Tumxuk. According to the 2002 census, it has a population of 380,000.
Payzawat County, also via SASM/GNC romanization as Payziwat County, and via Mandarin Chinese as Jiashi County is a county in Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, on the western rim of the Taklamakan Desert. To the east, the county borders Maralbexi County, to the south Yopurga County.
Kargilik County, also known as Yecheng County, is a county in southwest of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the Kashgar Prefecture. It contains an area of 28,600 km². To the north, the county borders Makit County. To the east, the county borders Guma County (Pishan) in Hotan Prefecture. To the west, the county borders Yarkant County, Poskam County and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County. In the south, the county has a border of more than 80 km (50 mi) with Pakistan and India administered areas of Kashmir.
Makit County is a county in Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. It contains an area of 10,927 km2 (4,219 sq mi). The Yarkand River passes through the county. The county is bordered to the north by Maralbexi County, to the east by Guma County (Pishan) in Hotan Prefecture, to the west by Yarkant County, and to the south by Kargilik County.
Yengisar County, also known as Yingjisha County, is a county of Kashgar Prefecture in southwest Xinjiang, China. It covers an area of 3,373 km2 (1,302 sq mi). As of the 2002 census, it had a population of 230,000.
Shufu County, also transliterated from Uyghur as Konaxahar County or Konasheher County/Kona Sheher County, is a county in Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. It contains an area of 3,513 km2 (1,356 sq mi). According to the 2002 census, it has a population of 360,000.
Karakax County, alternatively Moyu County, also transliterated from Uyghur as Qaraqash County, alternately Qaraqash, is a county in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is located in the southern edge of the Tarim Basin, it is under the administration of the Hotan Prefecture. It contains an area of 25,667 km2 (9,910 sq mi). According to the 2011 census it has a population of 577,000 and 98,1% are Uyghurs. The county is bordered to the north by Awat County in Aksu Prefecture, to the northeast by Lop County, to the southeast by Hotan County, to the northwest by Maralbexi County in Kashgar Prefecture, and to the southwest by Pishan County and Kunyu. Exclaves of Kunyu are located within the county.
Shule County, also known as Yengisheher County or Yengixahar County, is a county of Kashgar Prefecture, in Xinjiang, China. It is located to the south of Kashgar. In ancient times, the Shule area was once the home to a Xiyu oasis civilisation, the Shule Kingdom.
Dafdar, also spelled Daftar, is a township in the Taghdumbash Pamir located in Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County, Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. The township is located near the China–Pakistan border. The southern part of the township is located in the Trans-Karakoram Tract claimed by India.
The Chinese people in Pakistan comprise one of the country's significant expatriate communities. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has raised the expatriate population, which has grown from 20,000 in 2013 to 60,000 in 2018.
Kokyar is a township headquartered at a small oasis at the base of the Kunlun Mountains in southern Kargilik County, Kashgar Prefecture, southwestern Xinjiang, China.
Kashgar or Kashi is a city in the Tarim Basin region of southern Xinjiang, China. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, located near the country's border with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. For over 2,000 years, Kashgar was a strategically important oasis on the Silk Road between China, the Middle East, and Europe. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and has a population of 711,300 people. Kashgar's urban area covers 15 km2 (5.8 sq mi), although its administrative area extends over 555 km2 (214 sq mi).
Pakistanis in China consist largely of temporary residents, including international students and cross-border traders. They are concentrated in the Xinjiang autonomous region of Northwest China.
The Xinjiang conflict, also known as the East Turkistan conflict, Uyghur–Chinese conflict or Sino-East Turkistan conflict, is an ongoing ethnic geopolitical conflict in what is now China's far-northwest autonomous region of Xinjiang, also known as East Turkistan. It is centred around the Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnic group who constitute a plurality of the region's population.